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Why I withdrew N2.1b from oil funds, by Obasanjo |
From John-Abba Ogbodo, Abuja
PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday wrote the House of Representatives on the last- minute measures he took to save the national headcount held last March from failing.
In the letter, Obasanjo told the lower house that after due consultations with state governors, local council chiefs and other stakeholders, he withdrew N2.1 billion ($17.2 million) to fund the extension of the exercise by two days.
He said the money was used for fuelling, logistics and payment of allowances to the National Population Commission (NPC) ad-hoc workers.
The Speaker, Alhaji Aminu Masari, referred the letter to the House Committee of Public Finance and Appropriation.
The panel's chairman, Farouk Lawal, told The Guardian that the committee would probe the President's action because there were irregularities in it.
Obasanjo said that he was compelled by urgent need during the exercise to withdraw the said money from the excess crude account so as to make the scheme a success.
In the letter dated June 5, 2006 titled: "2006 Population Census: Supplementary Expenditure from Excess Crude Account," Obasanjo explained that during the census, delays were experienced resulting from problems associated with logistics, which led to many areas not being enumerated. The President further said that many state governors called to complain that their states were affected by the problem and after due consultations he granted an extension for two days.
He said that the extension resulted in additional cost of N2.1 billion, with the sum of N2.07 billion used to pay the allowances of functionaries while the remaining amount was spent on fuelling and other logistics.
The letter read in part: "I write to bring to your notice details of supplementary expenditure incurred last March from the Excess Crude Account to facilitate the successful conclusion of the 2006 national population census. You would recall that initial delays were experienced in conducting the enumeration exercise for the 2006 national population census. These delays which were associated with logistical hitches, resulted in non-coverage of a sizeable population, particularly in rural and remote areas and threatened the success of the exercise. Several state governors contacted me during the period to express their concern about the situation and requested my intervention to avert failure."
The president said that his consultations with stakeholders led to the conclusion that only a two-day extension would salvage the situation. To cope with that, he said, extra funds were needed.
"After due consultation with key stakeholders, I granted an extension of two days to enable the NPC to satisfactorily conclude the exercise. The additional cost resulting from this extension amounted to N2,187,193,480. The bulk of this amount ( N2.07 billion) was for payment of allowances to about 770,000 functionaries (supervisors, co-ordinators and enumerators) while the remaining amount was for fuelling, transportation and other logistics. The European Union (EU), which had provided some financial support for the exercise, including payment of allowances, could, however, not meet the incremental cost of the extension due to administrative constraints," he said.
Since no budgetary provision had been made by the government for this supplementary cost, and given the urgency of the situation, Obasanjo said he convened an emergency meeting of stakeholders, including Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to discuss the funding options.
"I also consulted extensively with several state governors and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), following which, it was agreed that the only way to fund this was to source money from the excess crude account. We all agreed it was a national emergency to save the census. Accordingly, I granted approval for the money to be debited from the excess crude account, the dollar equivalent of which amounted to $,290, 067.04. The bulk of this amount (N2.07 billion) was credited directly to the account of the United Nations Development Programme, Nigeria office, which was responsible for administering the allowances", he said,
Lawan said the committee would look at the issue critically from the point of the constitution and the propriety of the action of the President. He added that the letter raised the issue of irregularity because request for funds outside the Appropriation Act must be brought to the legislature for approval and not after the money had been withdrawn.
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